DPP UU [UU] Team SEXPy

[Xiang]

Team SEXPy

​

Introduction

Hi everyone! This team was built by xianglongfa, but the RMT is a joint effort between xianglongfa and whistle. Credit also goes to ReyScarface and Ace Matador for using this team extensively on the ladder and giving feedback. I (xianglongfa) peaked at #4 on the alt "HO is for noobs" with a CRE of 1650 before I stopped laddering. I would have shot for 1700+, but laddering became too slow as my range became significantly lower after a 5 game hax streak. I (whistle) was asked to point out that my lack of leaderboard bragging rights is because I "dick around on alts with horrible ranges" too much, not because the team is bad.

The team is called "SEXPy" because it uses lots of Pokemon that could be suspects and because it's very sexy. :jump:

Essentially, this is a bulky offensive team that aims for a late-game Raikou sweep. However, the beauty of the team is that every member (other than Froslass) is an independent win condition while also simultaneously luring in and weakening Raikou's checks. The centerpiece of the team strategy is Spikes support: every member of the offensive core lures in certain Pokemon who are then immediately forced out by another member. This causes Raikou's counters to constantly switch in and out of spikes which means they are significantly weakened when Raikou sets up in the endgame. Spikes also help minimize prediction, since an opposing Pokemon will take heavy damage even when switching into a resisted attack if Spikes are on the field.

The team boasts immunities to every status but Will-o-Wisp, which can get annoying at times but can be played around for the most part.

Team Building Process

I wanted to build a team around a Raikou sweep because it is fast, has a powerful STAB attack, isn't frail, and isn't weak to any priority moves.

Why not add Spikes support? Raikou loves them since the majority of his counters (minus... Claydol?) are grounded Pokemon. They also help wear down the opposing team throughout the match which means Raikou has an easier job sweeping through the remnants at the end.

Honchkrow is a good partner for Raikou because it draws in Steelix and Registeel while easily forcing out (which causes Spikes damage) Venusaur and its fellow Grass-types. Honchkrow basically wrecks every wall in UU which includes things that wall Raikou!

So every UU team needs Stealth Rock, especially one that relies on forcing switches as much as this one. Rhyperior provides a reliable switch into Normal- and Flying-type attacks and is able to pose an offensive threat as well with its massive attack stat and dual STABs.

By now, the core strategy of the team was complete but it lacked resistances and type synergy. Venusaur and Azumarill provide much appreciated Grass, Fire, and Water resistances while keeping strong offensive momentum. Venusaur is a great Milotic switch-in and is able to lure and weaken Registeels, while Azumarill forces lots of switches and also gives the team another strong priority user.

In-Depth

Froslass (F) @ Leftovers
Ability: Snow Cloak
EVs: 248 HP/228 Def/32 Spd
Timid nature (+Spd, -Atk)
- Ice Beam
- Taunt
- Spikes
- Pain Split

This is the best non-hail Froslass set we've ever used, hands down. Froslass's purpose is twofold: lay down as many layers of Spikes as possible in the early- and mid-game while simultaneously keep itself at relatively high HP so it can serve as our spinblocker. With a bulky spread, it doesn't have much to fear in the lead position apart from the odd Rock Blast Cloyster; Froslass also has good blind double switching synergy with the rest of the team, which helps it get easy mid-game Spikes.

Since Froslass is one of the frailer ghosts and it doesn't have Rest, it doesn't have too much staying power. To alleviate its burden, we tend to use Froslass as a pivot on predicted Rapid Spins (to Froslass on the Rapid Spin then to Venusaur on the Surf if we're facing Blastoise, for example) in the early game. By the second or third time the opposing spinner comes in, it's usually taken enough damage from Spikes, Stealth Rock, or random attacks that Froslass isn't needed anymore. Once the spinner is weakened, we can "block" Rapid Spin by using double switches to exert offensive pressure.

Taunt and Spikes are self-explanatory moves; Froslass prevents opposing leads from setting up while laying the Spikes that are vital to this team's success. Taunt also prevents bulky Pokemon from recovering HP after they switch into Spikes and Stealth Rock. Ice Beam provides a STAB attack that wards off Ground- and Grass-types, while Pain Split is a surprisingly useful move for keeping Froslass healthy. The given Speed EVs allow Froslass to outspeed neutral natured base 95s as well as +nature base 80s, with the rest of the EVs maximizing physical bulk. Credit goes to Heysup for creating this set :)!

Venusaur (F) @ Life Orb
Ability: Overgrow
EVs: 252 Atk/4 Def/252 Spd
Jolly nature (+Spd, -SAtk)
- Swords Dance
- Power Whip
- Earthquake
- Sleep Powder

Venusaur is this team's most valuable Pokemon in the early- to mid-game because of its ridiculous ability to keep offensive momentum, as well as being our most reliable switch into bulky waters. Venusaur forces switches in two different ways: first, it can directly force bulky waters and grounds out with the threat of a LO Power Whip (which is especially useful when we are double switching while Spikes and Stealth Rock are on the field); second, the opponent may try to play around Venusaur's Sleep Powder by switching around and baiting Sleep Powder onto a status absorber. Venusaur easily lures in opposing Registeels, which are promptly OHKOed by a +2 Earthquake with two layers of Spikes on the field, which potentially opens the opposing team for a Raikou sweep.

Swords Dance and Power Whip are self-explanatory; even though Seed Bomb has perfect accuracy, Power Whip's additional 50% damage output is too good to pass up. Earthquake provides the best secondary coverage for this team, since neither Altaria nor Moltres particularly threatens the rest of the team and Raikou really appreciates having Registeel out of the way. Sleep Powder separates Venusaur from its fellow Swords Dancers, and can easily put a Pokemon on the opposing team out of commission for the entire match.

A Life Orb is a must on this set as it gives Venusaur a hefty kick behind its attacks (it is necessary to 2HKO Honchkrow after Stealth Rock damage, for example). Venusaur's ability to keep offensive momentum comes from its high damage output even against Pokemon that resist its attacks, so Leftovers isn't a viable option. A Jolly nature ensures that at worst, we speed tie with all of Venusaur's fellow base 80s, which include Blaziken, Kabutops, Gallade.

Rhyperior (F) @ Leftovers
Ability: Solid Rock
EVs: 120 HP/228 Atk/28 Def/132 Spd
Adamant nature (+Atk, -SAtk)
- Stealth Rock
- Earthquake
- Rock Blast
- Megahorn

Rhyperior sets up the all-important Stealth Rock for our team, as well as serving as an all-purpose physical tank while still dishing out hits due to the high Attack investment. Rhyperior has excellent switch-in synergy with the rest of the team, since it tends to lure in the bulky Waters and Grounds that Azumarill and Venusaur love to set up on.

Earthquake provides a reliable STAB attack. Rock Blast was chosen over Stone Edge or Rock Slide due to its ability to defeat Substitute abusers (including SubPunchers, SubRoost Moltres, and even Substitute Mismagius in a pinch). Megahorn is a useful coverage attack that hits Umbreon (we can beat Curse variants as long as we switch in on a Curse and Umbreon has taken a little residual damage from Spikes), Slowbro, Tangrowth, and Leafeon super-effectively.

The given Speed EVs put Rhyperior at 149 Speed, which outspeeds 0 Speed Omastar as well as nearly all base 50s like Donphan, the Regis, Chansey, Azumarill, and Tangrowth. The HP EVs yield an HP stat of 401, which lets Rhyperior survive five Seismic Tosses at full HP (and is one more than a leftovers number). The Defense EVs ensure that an Adamant Life Orbed Gallade never OHKOs Rhyperior with Close Combat, even with Stealth Rock down, while the rest of the EVs are dumped into Attack.

Azumarill (F) @ Leftovers
Ability: Huge Power
EVs: 252 HP/240 Atk/16 Spd
Adamant nature (+Atk, -SAtk)
- Waterfall
- Focus Punch
- Aqua Jet
- Substitute

Azumarill gives our team a solid switch into Fire-types like Blaziken and Moltres, while also bringing a strong priority move to the table. In addition, helps cause Raikou's counters to switch in and out of Spikes; it lures in Venusaur like moths to a candle, and can easily force out Ground-types like Steelix. The SubPunch set was chosen over the Choice Band set for two reasons. First, this team doesn't handle sweepers that could set up on the Choice Band set (such as Toxicroak, Feraligatr, or Mismagius) too well. Second, this set has a little more longevity, and is good at forcing tons of switches (which means more Spikes damage).

Substitute and Focus Punch are self-explanatory, and allow Azumarill to take advantage of Pokemon like Registeel and Chansey. Aqua Jet gives us a solid priority attack that checks dangerous Fire-type sweepers like Blaziken, Magmortar, and Houndoom. Waterfall was chosen over Ice Punch or Toxic because of the importance of a solid STAB attack; it delivers a solid hit on Uxie, Mesprit, Spiritomb, and similarly bulky Pokemon.

252 HP EVs are needed for Azumarill to create Substitutes that are unbreakable with one Seismic Toss which lets us set up on Chansey and Encore-less Clefable. 16 Speed EVs outpaces the majority of Azumarill's fellow base 50s, while the remaining EVs are dumped into Attack.

Honchkrow (F) @ Life Orb
Ability: Insomnia
EVs: 252 Atk/4 Def/252 Spd
Adamant nature (+Atk, -SAtk)
- Brave Bird
- Sucker Punch
- Superpower
- Roost

<xianglongfa> you can generally describe how broken it is
<xianglongfa> like
<xianglongfa> oh shit i came in on something slower
<xianglongfa> BB
<xianglongfa> BB
<xianglongfa> B
<xianglongfa> BB
<whistle> B
<whistle> BBB
<xianglongfa> BB
<whistle> BBB
<xianglongfa> B
<xianglongfa> BB
<xianglongfa> BB
<whistle> ok i get it
<xianglongfa> BBB
<xianglongfa> BBB
<xianglongfa> and they're like
<xianglongfa> oh shit
<xianglongfa> spikes
<xianglongfa> ouch that hurt my butt
<xianglongfa> ouch BB
<xianglongfa> that hurt more
<whistle> lol
<xianglongfa> oh shit i can't even sub
<xianglongfa> i'll hit you
<xianglongfa> ouch sucker punch
<xianglongfa> :(

Basically, Honchkrow destroys walls in UU, including walls that wall Raikou. Its immunity to Sleep Powder and resistance to Grass also makes it a good switch-in to Venusaur, who is a common Raikou counter. Honchkrow also brings a second priority attack in the form of Sucker Punch, which lets it check many powerful but frail sweepers like Sceptile, Magmortar, Alakazam, and the multitude of rain sweepers.

Honchkrow's moveset provides the most utility for this team. Brave Bird tears through UU's bulkiest Pokemon, 2HKOing Milotic, Slowbro, Weezing, and Uxie. The Rock- and Steel-types that resist Flying are torn apart by Superpower (incidentally, Registeel and Steelix, two popular Raikou counters, love switching into Honchkrow). Sucker Punch gives us the aforementioned priority attack and is a last-ditch defense against many sweepers. Roost lets Honchkrow recover HP lost from wrecklessly spamming Brave Bird and stops opponents from simply stalling it out from Life Orb recoil (as a result, it plays somewhat similarly to OU's Roost MixMence).

The EVs are straightforward; max Attack to wreak the most havoc on the opponent, while max Speed ensures we speed tie at worst against opposing Honchkrow. An Adamant nature is preferred to hit as hard as possible; there is nothing to reliably outspeed even with a Jolly nature, since many base 80s are running +Speed natures of their own.

Raikou @ Leftovers
Ability: Pressure
EVs: 252 Spd/232 SAtk/24 SDef
Timid nature (+Spd, -Atk)
- Thunderbolt
- Substitute
- Calm Mind
- Hidden Power [Grass]

Raikou is the Pokemon this team was built around, and by the time it comes out in the late game, the opposing team should be weakened enough for it to easily sweep. Raikou was chosen over another late game sweeper for several reasons. It's extremely fast, which means it can stat-up ahead of fellow sweepers like SubCM Mismagius. This also means the number of Pokemon that can reliably revenge-kill it is lower (since it is faster than the majority of the tier). Substitute blocks status and critical hits, scouts, and makes revenge killing Raikou much harder; it is bulky enough to create unbreakable Substitutes against many common special attackers after just a single Calm Mind. This set was chosen over the offensive Life Orb set due to its reliability and difficulty to revenge kill; since the goal of the rest of the team is to systematically weaken Raikou's counters, we usually don't miss the slight loss of power.

Substitute and Calm Mind are self-explanatory and allow Raikou to set up on the majority of UU's special attackers, while Thunderbolt provides a reliable and powerful STAB attack. Hidden Power Grass is preferred over Ice or Water because the rest of the team is designed to beat most of the targets that Ice or Water would be useful against, like Venusaur and Steelix. Hidden Power Grass is useful against Lanturn and Quagsire, two Pokemon who cause problems for the rest of the team.

The EVs are straightforward: max Speed is preferred as it lets Raikou set up Substitutes or Calm Minds ahead of opposing attacks, and lets us tie at worst with opposing Raikou and Ambipom. 24 Special Defense EVs ensure that +1 Raikou's Substitute is never broken by 0 SpA EV Milotic's Surf (and by extension, Slowbro's and Slowking's Surfs too). The remaining EVs are dumped into Special Attack to do as much damage as possible.

Conclusion

It has been lots of fun creating and using this team full of potentially BL Pokemon and abusing them to the fullest! Even more fun was sharing this team with others, such as whistle, ReyScarface, Ace Matador, TheFourthChaser, and Mind, among others. Feel free to suggest any fixes to the team based on potential tier changes (especially Honchkrow), or to steal it and use it for yourself!

Trying These Changes:

Trying this Venusaur set that is basically an altered version of Xia's to maximize speed and check more threats.This set goes a long ways towards helping me to counter Tangrowth and Sceptile :

Venusaur (M) @ Life Orb
Ability: Overgrow
EVs: 164 Atk/252 Spd/92 SAtk
Hasty nature (+Spd, -Def)
- Power Whip
- Sleep Powder
- Sludge Bomb
- Synthesis

One problem this spread does promote is a further weakness to my opponent's Raikou sweeps, as I now can't hit it with a full-powered EQ. I will also be weaker to opposing azumarill, as coming in on CB waterfall with be much harder with a Hasty nature.

I will also be testing August's suggestion of Arcanine over Raikou independent of changing Venusaur's set. I feel as if even though Arcanine does not late game sweep nearly as well, it makes the team as a whole much more solid and abuses spikestacking even more. (plus i love immunity to ALL common status moves :P)

Arcanine set:


Arcanine (M) @ Life Orb
Ability: Intimidate
EVs: 252 Atk/252 Spd/4 SAtk
Naughty nature (+Atk, -SDef)
- Extremespeed
- Flare Blitz
- Morning Sun
- Hidden Power [Grass]



A Threat list is posted below:

 

[whistle]

Threat List
(jacked from Heysup's RMT)

.......​

Defensive Threats
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Blastoise -- Venusaur takes the water attacks, and Froslass blocks spin.

Chansey -- Chansey is annoying to my Raikou sweep since nothing lures it in, but since every other member deals with it, it's usually not a problem

Claydol -- Froslass blocks Rapid Spin and threatens with STAB Ice Beam; Azumarill sets up Substitute or Waterfalls; Venusaur hits it hard; Rhyperior can Megahorn

Clefable -- similar to Chansey but can't even stop Raikou from sweeping

Cloyster -- Venusaur OHKOs it; Azumarill sets up Substitute

Cradily -- spam physical attacks (and spikes hurts it)

Kangaskhan -- every variant is walled and destroyed by Rhyperior

Lanturn -- dead weight; setup bait for Raikou

Lapras -- everything hits it hard except for Froslass, who can taunt

Mesprit -- Froslass survives Psychic and sets up a few layers of spikes; switch to Rhyperior on a Thunderbolt to Megahorn or set up SR; switch to Honchkrow on Psychic and force it out with Sucker Punch

Milotic -- Venusaur is my main switch in, but I'd usually take the chance to set up more spikes with Froslass if I can; Raikou sets up

Miltank -- Hit it hard, and hit it soon

Nidoqueen -- Rhyperior, Venusaur, Azumarill, Honchkrow

Quagsire -- Venasaur, Raikou in a pinch

Regirock -- Rhyperior, Azumarill, Venusaur

Registeel -- Azumarill, Rhyperior, Venusaur

Rotom -- Rhyperior and Venusaur take Electric attacks, Raikou sets up

Slowbro -- Venusaur deals with it quite well, Raikou sets up on it

Spiritomb -- I hate WoW but just let it WoW something and 2HKO it and don't let it Rest

Umbreon -- Rhyperior, and just hit it hard when it comes in because usually spikes and/or SR should be up

Uxie -- Froslass sets up spikes

Weezing -- I hate WoW but just sac something to kill it

.......​

Offensive Threats

Absol -- sacrifice something if necessary and just hit it hard and if it's still not dead then Azumarill can revenge with Aqua Jet / Substitute mindgames on Absol's Sucker Punch

Alakazam -- Aqua Jet from Azumarill; Honchkrow can switch in on Psychic and Sucker Punch (Substitute versions require some prediction to play around)

Altaria -- If it somehow sets up, go to Rhyperior. If it ends up killing something, go to Honchkrow to Sucker Punch while it's locked into Outrage

Ambipom -- Rhyperior can fend it off, but Low Kick does quite a bit; usually priority + residual damage beats it

Arcanine -- Rhyperior beats most variants; Azumarill beats all variants at high HP

Azumarill -- Venusaur

Blaziken -- Azumarill kills with Aqua Jet; Rhyperior; Venusaur outspeeds most and kills with Earthquake; Raikou revenges in dire circumstances

Drapion -- Rhyperior or Venusaur may be able to take it on depend on its moveset but if it has Aqua Tail + Ice Fang + LO I'm losing a Pokemon; it can be revenged by Raikou with a little residual damage though

Feraligatr -- SD variants are beaten by Venusaur; Dragon Dance variants are easily revenged by Honchkrow; Raikou also revenges SD variants quite well

Froslass -- OHKO with Rock Blast (glitch); Azumarill can Waterfall + Aqua Jet or set up Substitute

Gallade -- Gallade has no business sweeping this team because no Pokemon lets it set up and almost everything revenges it.

Hariyama -- don't let it get a free Substitute and it won't do much; Venusaur does well regardless

Hitmonlee -- Froslass is usually my initial switch-in; Venusaur does well too

Hitmontop -- Froslass blocks spin and Venusaur sets up on it. Honchkrow chases it out

Honchkrow -- Rhyperior

Houndoom -- It's quite dangerous if I let it set up, but then Azumarill revenges it anyways and Raikou can be used as a last ditch revenger as well

Kabutops -- Venusaur usually outspeeds, Azumarill can take care of it, Raikou can revenge

Leafeon -- Venusaur walls it, Honchkrow scares it, Froslass beats it

Magmortar -- can be scary with a mixed set, but Aqua Jet and Sucker Punch beat it

Medicham -- if I predict correctly it's set up bait for something with no loss, if I predict wrong I still get to set up something or at least hit a switch-in with a strong attack. mmmmmmm

Mismagius -- Rhyperior is a great check because it breaks through Substitutes with Rock Blast; Raikou, Aqua Jet, and Sucker Punch also beat it

Moltres -- Azumarill is a decent switch-in provided it doesn't Air Slash or HP Grass. Raikou can scare it away with Thunderbolt. The best way to deal with Moltres is by saccing Froslass. SubToxic variants are beaten soundly by Rhyperior's Rock Blast

Nidoking -- Azumarill, Rhyperior, Froslass

Omastar -- Venusaur can OHKO, Azumarill gets a free sub, Rhyperior outspeeds 0 EV variants

Pinsir -- Rhyperior, Raikou, Sucker Punch. it doesn't get a free SD on anything so just take a hit and kill it

Raikou -- Venusaur deals with Hidden Power Grass variants and Rhyperior deals with Hidden Power Ice variants; priority can check weakened ones; Raikou can CM war in a pinch

Rhyperior -- this thing is strong and it usually takes some clever switches to avoid taking severe damage, but nothing is really afraid of this thing besides maybe Honchkrow

Sceptile -- this thing is a bitch. It's hard to switch things in without knowing the set but usually Venusaur is the best bet. If that fails, then just take a hit with Froslass or Raikou and kill it or play Sucker Punch mindgames and see if it uses Substitute

Scyther -- Rhyperior, Aqua Jet, Sucker Punch

Swellow -- Rhyperior, Aqua Jet, Sucker Punch (Azumarill is preferred for priority because it can take a few Quick Attacks)

Tauros -- Rhyperior, Aqua Jet, Sucker Punch

Torterra -- It can be brutal if I let it set up and my priority attackers are gone, but it can't really set up on anything

Typhlosion -- would be annoying, but it's not a threat if it comes into hazards. If it's a lead I go to Azumarill

Ursaring -- Can't set up on anything and is revenged with priority

Venusaur -- My own Venusaur works quite well, outspeeding most. Honchkrow likes to switch in on Sleep Powder, Energy Ball, Synthesis, weak Seed Bombs, etc

 

[KnightoftheWind]

This team has a bad weakness to Ice-type attacks. Three of your Pokemon are hit for super-effective damage by Ice moves and your only resists either lack staying power (Froslass), or are losing health too quickly (Azumarill). Cloyster is probably the main thing you want to be concerned about. Your threat list doesn't really tell the exact truth about Cloyster. Your Cloyster checks include Venusaur who can KO and Azumarill who can set-up on it. Whilst Venusaur does pose an offensive threat to Cloyster, it can't switch in, due to its weakness to Ice Shard. Azumarill can't set-up on Cloyster, on the contrary, Cloyster doesn't have much trouble with your Azumarill. A max Attack Cloyster can use Rock Blast on Azumarill and break the Sub on the fourth hit. Should you be trying to Focus Punch Cloyster, the fifth hit will cause the Focus Punch to fail.

My suggestion is to use Aggron over Rhyperior.

Aggron @ Leftovers | Adamant
200 HP / 252 Atk / 52 Spd
Stealth Rock / Head Smash / Aqua Tail / Low Kick

Aggron resists the Ice / Rock combo most Cloyster run these days, and is actually a much better fit than Rhyperior. Rock / Ground is a terrible defensive typing, so Rhyperior may lack oppurtunites to set-up Stealth Rock safely. Whilst Steel / Rock isn't the greatest typing around, Aggron gets much more free switch-ins than Rhyperior, thanks to the resistances granted by the Steel-type. This set hits the same speed Rhyperior did, and it is much more of an offensive threat due to how ridiculously powerful Head Smash is. The only real thing I can see being lost is the ability to take Honchkrow's Superpower's, but considering Honchkrow is highly likely to be banished to BL, Aggron should be considered as a substitute for Rhyperior if UU becomes Honchkrow-less.

Good luck :)

 

[Xiang]

Thanks for the rate KnightoftheWind.

In regards to max attack Cloyster, yes it is rather annoying for my team. It will usually always try to KO my froslass lead ASAP so I let it do that while getting 1 layer down. Then I bring in Venu to force it out or KO it by either using sleep powder or power whip as it ice shards or switches out.

The implications of replacing rhyperior with that aggron set are far more severe than you make it seem however, as now I don't have rock blast to counter random threats with substitute like moltres. I'm also a ton weaker to ground attacks I let Rhyperior take. In fact, I now have one less switchin to everything that packs a ground move as well as several other problem pokemon like Claydol, Kangaskhan, nidoqueen, regirock, ambipom, arcanine, blaziken, drapion, mismagius, pinsir, moltres, nidoking, rhyperior, scyther, typhlosion and ursaring. Not to mention honchkrow, and losing my only twave immunity.

 

[Reaver12]

I believe I battled your HO is for noobs alt runngin this team several days ago, and I have to say it's damn good.

That being said here's my two cents.

I could see Hitmontop being a big hassle to this team, as Foresight gurantees Rapid Spin hits and if your opponent predicts the switch in he can wreck your Froslass with another of its attacks. I don't really see a way to change this without changing the team, just letting you know it should at least be Yellow on your threat list and to be wary with Froslass until its dead.

All in all the team looks really solid, enjoy it while it lasts lol.

 

[6A9 Ace Matador]

After having used this team (thanks xiang x) I found it to be very effective and setting up entry hazards and beating many common UU threats. However, I have to agree with Reaver, Hitmontop is incredibly annoying, but I found the LO set more annoying than anything, since you don't have many good switches to it =( It's relativley easy to play around though I guess! Overall a very sexy team!

 

[A.P.]

Looking at the team, I can see that you have a massive weakness to HP Grass Honchkrow, who in tandem with Raikou or Moltres, really runs through your team. Your only hope is to play around it or weaken it, before KO'ing with priority. Both Raikou and Moltres, with Krow's support, destroy your team.

Other than that, I suggest you drop Roost on your own Krow for HP Grass, and run a KrowKou combo of your own. Raikou, if it sets up and lures in shit like Quagsire or Rhyperior, can land some damage with its coverage move, then go to Krow on the predicted EQ and rape with HP Grass, clearing the way for Raikou to rumble through the opposition.

The only question, though, becomes: What will you now use on Raikou? With many Ground-types now out of the way (the only one who isn't, Donphan, isn't a threat to you anyways. Dugtrio requires being played around), I would suggest HP Fire, to do damage to Steelix, as well as still hit the other Grass-types who Krow may not have been rid of.

Other than that, nice team, I can see how you got the high rating. Good luck.

EDIT: Nitpick: In the Team-building, you claim Venusaur and Zuzu gives you Water-Fire-Grass combo, but you don't have a Fire-type.

 

[Xiang]

@031ap: TBH i've tried and thought about which hidden power to use on Raikou and I've come to the conclusion that grass fits the team the best. I've considered how hp fire would compliment an Hp grass honchkrow better, however I just find so many opportunities to roost that so far I have rarely found myself losing honchkrow until late game. I think roost is staying.

EDIT: Nitpick: In the Team-building, you claim Venusaur and Zuzu gives you Water-Fire-Grass combo, but you don't have a Fire-type.

To quote myself in reply to your nitpick,

Venusaur and Azumarill provide much appreciated Grass, Fire, and Water resistances while keeping strong offensive momentum.

In fact, my team resists the common fire/grass/water combo 2x each.

 

[Heysup]

As I mentioned to you on IRC when you showed me the team, I had used the exact same team (except Choice Band Azumaril and Synthesis over Swords Dance on Venusaur) in the beginning of the test. What I found it came down to was that I would easily win, unless they had Spikes and fast sweepers, or a well-timed use of Donphan or Blastoise to rapid spin. Anyway, is there any particular reason you aren't using Synthesis over SD on Venusaur? I mean, what exactly do you need Venusaur to OHKO with Swords Dance?

I couldn't really find anything to fix the problem, minor as it was, so all I can really say is: Great team!

PS. Specifically watch out for Spinners like Blastoise. If only Starmie was usable in UU :(.

So yea, great team!

EDIT: August makes a good point, but I think a more simple way to fix it would be to make Venusaur mixed or simply stick HP Ice on Raikou over GP Grass.

 

[august]

Fufilling my promise!

So uh, my main question is what you do against Tangrowth? Nothing can really switch into Tangrowth, particularly Tangrowth that run Stun Spore. Honchkrow is your best shot, but switching into Stun Spore is going to severely limit how useful Honchkrow is the rest of the game. To remedy this, I suggest Life Orb / Expert Belt Arcanine over either Raikou or Honchkrow (as much as this hurts, they're the most easily replaceable members). Arcanine gives you a much appreciated Will O Wisp immunity, and it can also turn it into an offensive onslaught thanks to Spikes! It gives you the ever so consistent Grass / Water / Fire core that UU teams love so much.

Arcanine (M) @ Life Orb
Ability: Intimidate
EVs: 252 Atk/252 Spd/4 SAtk
Naughty nature (+Atk, -SDef)
- Extremespeed
- Flare Blitz
- Morning Sun
- Hidden Power [Grass]

Credit for the set goes to heysup, who's RMT i found it in!

Other than that there isn't much to say, not that I know much UU anyway x)

For the record:
<@august> god damnit where am i going to put arcanine in here
<@august> fire grass water core would be exalant
<%whistle> stick it over raikou

 

[franky]

hello xia,

Not much to say really, look for Synthesis over Swords Dance on Venusaur. Since this metagame is now much faster than the previous one, its harder to pull a swords dance sweep. Also, I'd like for you to try out Mix Venu with the same EVs but with Hasty nature to go along with Sludge Bomb over Earthquake. Bluffing the opponent is always an excellent tactic, nothing like a good ole' dead Chansey trying to come in on Sludge Bomb (its cool to lure in a Raikou check). While it was a confusion between choosing Hasty and Naive, Hasty is better so you can actually semi-check something like Raikou and come in on Slowbro's Psychic.

As for other options, I'd go for CB set really on Azumarill. The last thing you want is loosing HP from Substitute, then eventually switch out later. Azumarill actually plays an integral part of your team (defensively), I feel like you should save it later on and prevent it from loosing sizes of HP from Sub. overall gl.

 

[Bluewind]

Just adding a little something to franky's rate, adding Sludge Bomb on Venusaur also helps you when countering Tangrowth, a problem noticed by august, as well as Sceptile, who's OHKOed IIRC; so I back him up on Sludge Bomb and Synthesis over Swords Dance and Earthquake. Overall an excellent team =)

 

[jamashawalker]

to bring some feedback...

Although stall teams are scarce now...i see your team having trouble staying aliv with spikes and SR on the field...honchkrow is your only pokemon with a recovery move and azumarill will also have problems staying alive with sub+SR....this team is overall really good offensive/balance team though...pretty much though when you face teams out of the ordinary that can cause a problem for example...rain dance teams hurt you ALOT honchkrow is your only option i see...

 

[Xiang]

Update:

Whistle tried that arcanine set and said it's been working well. He says it's pretty 50/50 between arcanine and raikou. This makes sense because arcanine has great speed, contributes more to the team defensively, and grants us an extra priority move.

We've also been trying a max/max+impish rhyperior with roar>megahorn, which has been working great. We've missed megahorn and the extra attack investment at times against things like slowbro though.

We're also 50/50 about keeping the new Venu set. Some of the reasons are:

1) We're weaker to Drapion
2) We're weaker to Raikou
3) We're weaker to Azumarill
4) Sludge bomb doesn't do enough damage w/o investment
5) Having to rely on an inaccurate powerwhip when EQ would KO is annoying

Advantages were numerous as well, and have been highlighted in the OP as well as in several replies in this thread.

to bring some feedback...

Although stall teams are scarce now...i see your team having trouble staying aliv with spikes and SR on the field

There are several reasons why this team is very good against UU stall. The first (though debatable) reason is that most good stall teams use SR on Chansey, who really has no busy coming in on this team almost ever. The most common spikes user on stall is omastar, which also can't set up spikes without dying in 2 hits against pretty much any member of my team save froslass, who is also amazing at taunting stall and setting up spikes. Because this team is great at setting up hazards against stall, if I correctly keep up the offensive pressure, then stall will in most cases crumble quickly enough such that even with a layer of spikes on my side, I can usually manage a win.

rain dance teams hurt you ALOT honchkrow is your only option i see...

Though it may come as a surprise, I actually have several tools under my disposal against Rain Dance teams. The first and most obvious is definitely to sac something to build up LO damage and bring in honchkrow to sucker punch for the KO. This becomes significantly easier with 1-2 layers of spikes support (as rhyperior will obviously not find an opportunity to SR). While rain is in play, I can also bring in azumarill on kabutops to revenge kill. Outside of the rain I have venusaur, which outspeeds pretty much everything on a conventional raindance team and can sleep powder and power whip through a lot of their team. If I find the correct opportunity to bring in raikou through counting rain dance turns and correct analysis of residual damage on my opponent's switchins, then I will basically have a sweep.

Raindance is hard to beat with a teamstyle like this, but it is certainly beatable if I outplay the opponent.

 

[Flamewheeler]

Trying this Venusaur set that is basically an altered version of Xia's to maximize speed and check more threats.This set goes a long ways towards helping me to counter Tangrowth and Sceptile :

I would first like to say that I like that tweak on my mix Venu set tyvm. I suggest going milod over Hasty as I am not really sure what you want to outspeed here. I am usually a speed over power type of guy, but running more of a hard hitting nature will help you break stall much easier. Also, his sludge bombs will hit harder, obviously something you would like them to do. Sytheses also gives you some recovery so you can hold off and beat things like azumarill (something you said you were weaker to now) and milotic with or without Ice beam; power whip OHKOes both of them. Awesome team, I would expect it from you anyway, so meh. I would watch out for duggy if I were you because I beat you with my duggy team and he's rising in popularity. I'm sad that I got no stars, but I'd rate yours if I could! Again, awesome team!...you should've told me about it. >.>

Edit: I kinda ignored the threat list, sorry about that. I also agree with bad ass on that 4 attack azu suggestion, or even a milotic. Since you want to keep gatr at bay, possibly even a LO milo just to keep the pace. Also, gatr is pretty rare imo, so I wouldn't worry too much about it.

 

[A.P.]

Run Sludge Bomb over SD to keep your coverage, as Venusaur can't really be used as a set-up Pokémon right now - it's got too many other things to cover.

 

[whistle]

Thanks for the rate Flamewheeler!

As mentioned in the threat list, Venusaur is our main check for SD Feraligatr. Making it Mild or any other non +Speed nature means we don't outspeed Jolly Feraligatr. It does does a minimum of 96% with a LO Return (this is even without the -Defense nature that we use on the mixed set), which creates a pretty unacceptably large weakness, especially if it has Aqua Jet for Honchkrow / Raikou.

You're right that Dugtrio can be a problem for the Raikou version of the team if it stays unrevealed until the late game. However, we try to scout as best as we can and attempt to lure the Dugtrio out early in the match; we also try to keep a Sub up with Raikou whenever possible. But as with all Raikou teams, we can't be 100% safe against Dugtrio, and it certainly is a big threat.

031ap, Sludge Bomb is on the set that we're testing. the main problem is that going mixed forces us to run a -Def nature (because Venusaur is mostly switching into Milotic and company), which means Venusaur dies more easily especially to stuff like Azumarill. Venusaur is the most reliable Pokemon on the team in the early-mid game which means we really need it to stay alive, which means we need to run Synthesis. Unfortunately this means we either have to drop the "oh shit" button Sleep Powder or we can't use EQ. not having EQ makes us a little weaker to Drapion and Raikou while relying on 85% accuracy is annoying to say the least. any ideas on how to fix this would be appreciated, though.

 

[Bad Ass]

We talked about it on IRC, and you told me to post it here so uh yea. 4 attack Azumarill might fit in here better. Since you aren't putting up subs, you have a lot more survivability. That lets it take on the fire types that plague your team much more easily. It's not like you'll miss Focus Punch, because you get Superpower. You also add Ice Punch to your arsenal for Altaria and hitting the grasses on the switch in. Just shooting around some ideas, it's a nice team longfa.